Movie mode and content awarding system and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method is presented for awarding content to users of mobile devices for attending events, appearing at locations, or viewing audiovisual content. One embodiment also automatically alters the configuration of mobile devices, which is particularly useful in movie theaters. An application on the device recognizes an audible signal provided at the location or in the audiovisual content. The signal can also be used to unlock content. In this way, desired content is available only when the user has attended an event such as an event sponsored by the content creator. The content can relate to the event, and can be synchronized to the event. The signal can also trigger an application or unlock content at a store location. For example, a scavenger hunt can be guided by an application on the mobile device.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present application relates to the field of mobile devices such ascellular phones. More particularly, the described embodiments relate totriggering applications running on those devices through the use of anaudible sonic signal, where such applications award the user withdesired content or alter the device's current operating parameters.

SUMMARY

One embodiment of the present invention provides an application thatputs mobile devices into a configuration appropriate for use in movietheaters. This is accomplished by an application on the device thatrecognizes a signal provided in the movie theater. In one embodiment,the signal is audible. The embodiment also works at other locationswhere the signal is present, such as a retail store or during theplaying of audiovisual content on a television or computer display.

The signal can also be used to unlock or otherwise provide access tocontent. In this way, desired content is awarded to a user only when theuser has performed the steps desired by the signal creator, such asattending an event or viewing particular audiovisual materials. In someembodiments, the awarded content relates to the event at which thesignal is received. In these embodiments, the awarded content maysynchronize with the event. In the context of a movie theater, theawarded content could be synchronized with the content displayed on amovie screen, such as during movie's credits. In another embodiment, thecontent is available after receiving the signal, but is not synchronizedwith the event at which the signal was received.

In yet another embodiment, the signal is used to trigger an applicationto unlock content at a store location. For example, a scavenger hunt canbe guided by an application on the mobile device. The receipt of asignal or the use of Wi-Fi triangulation can trigger the unlocking ofcontent, such as an application, entertainment content, or a digitalcoupon. In this way customers can be incentivized to visit the store.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the primary elements of a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the primary elements of a secondembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a first method of using an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a second method of using an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Altering Device Settings—Movie Mode

A system 10 using one embodiment of the present invention is shown inFIG. 1, in which a portable device 100 is located within an eventlocation 200. The portable device 100 could be a cell phone, a personalorganizer, a pocket PC, a tablet computer, a media reader, a portablemedia player, or the like. The portable device 100 is preferablypersonally sized and easily carried by the user (under two pounds). Thedevice 100 contains non-transitory, tangible, digital memory 110 such asRAM, ROM, physical hard drive, or FLASH memory. This memory 110 containsat least one application 120, device settings 130, and various types ofcontent including the awarded content 140. The application 120 is adigital program that operates on a processor 150. This processor 150could be any of the standard, general purposes processors or chipsetsavailable on the market, such as the RISC chips developed by ARMHoldings of Cambridge, England or the Apple A4 (or A5) system-on-a-chipdeveloped by Apple Inc. of Cupertino Calif.

In this embodiment, application 120 is capable of putting the device 100into a configuration appropriate for use in the event location 200. Forinstance, the event location 200 may be a movie theater in which afeature movie 210 is showed to an audience. Alternatively, the eventlocation 200 could be a playhouse or a concert auditorium, and the eventcontent 210 could be a live play or musical concert. The configurationof the device 100 by the application 120 is accomplished by changing thedevice settings 130 stored in memory 110. In one embodiment, theapplication 120 will put the device 100 in “movie mode” when in a movietheater, changing the device settings 130 so as to:

-   -   1) prevent the operation of recording devices (camera and audio        recording),    -   2) bring the ringer volume to silent or to enter vibration mode,        and    -   3) dim the screen light.        The movie mode setting may also change other device settings        130, such as putting the device into a low battery consumption        configuration. In fact, the device settings 130 could even        disable the ability to make or receive phone calls and SMS or        MMS messages. In some circumstances, these settings 130 can be        accomplished by placing the device 100 in a predefined mode,        such as “airplane mode.” In other circumstances, the settings        130 are altered individually by the application 120.

In one embodiment, different versions of the application 120 are createdfor different types of portable devices 100. For example, separateversions could be created for mobile devices that operate Windows,Android, Blackberry, and Apple's iOS operating systems. These differentapplications 120 may have separate functionality depending upon thecapabilities of the devices 100 and their operating systems. Forexample, it is relatively simply to dim the screen on devices 100running all four of these operating systems through the application 120.In contrast, while some devices 100 allow an application 120 to disablethe audible ringer through the device's API, devices 100 running otheroperating systems require that the user manually turn off the ringer. Inthe latter case, the application 120 must determine if the device is setto have an audible ring, and if so then require that the user turn offthe ringer before proceeding.

In some cases, the application 120 will need to be launched on thedevice before the application 120 is able to monitor the receiver 160for the signal 220. In these cases, the user will need to be prompted orotherwise encouraged to launch the application 120. For instance, amovie theater may present an introductory video encouraging users toturn on the application 120 at the beginning of every movie. Similarly,a retail store may post a sign within the store reminding customers toturn on their application 120 in order to gain access to desiredcontent. In other devices 100, the application 120 can run continuouslyin the background, thereby allowing the user to simply enter the eventlocation 200 and have the device 100 automatically detect the signals220.

Signals 220

In order for the application 120 to know when the settings 130 for thedevice 100 should be changed for an event location 200, the application120 monitors a receiver 160 found on the device 100. In one embodiment,the receiver 160 is a microphone that receives one or more audiblesignals 220 that are recognized by the application 120 as indicative ofthe event location 200. In another embodiment, these signals 220 areradio signals. In yet another embodiment, the signals 220 can take theform of a visual signal (i.e., a bar code) that is triggered by viewingthe visual signal with a camera embedded on the device 100. Thesesignals 220 are transmitted by one or more signaling devices 230 foundin the event location 200. For audible signals 220, the signalingdevices 230 may take the form of speakers capable of creating the signal220. In the context of a movie theater, a concert auditorium, or aplayhouse, the speakers 230 could be speakers already used by the eventlocation 200 for supporting the event content 210. Radio signals 220 canbe transmitted by a radio transmitter 230. Many devices 100 are able tolocate their position by examining the known location of Wi-Fitransmitters that transmit signals being received by the device 100.These devices 100 could therefore identify when the device is within theevent location 200 through Wi-Fi transmitter identification. Visualsignals 220 could be displayed on a wall or screen of the event location200, or even on a smaller sign that is encountered by users whenentering or within the event location 200.

If the signal is audible, the signal can take the form of a sequence ofaudible frequencies that the device is configured to recognize. Othersignals may include inaudible frequencies or visual cues. An audiblesignal 220 could take the form of a unique set of frequencies,durations, number of tones, arrangement of tones, etc. A particularconfiguration of the signal 220 should be tested in a variety oflocations 200 under real-world conditions in order to determine thelikelihood that all devices 100 in that location 200 will receive thesignal 220. Testing has revealed that some of the more successfulsignals use four successive tones.

The application 120 monitors inputs from the microphone 160 to recognizethe signals 220 as indicative of the event location 200. Note that insome embodiments, the signals 220 can be indicative of the event content210 and not the particular location 200. For example, the signal 220could be embedded into the beginning of a feature movie 210. The signals220 that are generated would be the same in every movie theater 200 thatis showing that particular feature 210. In this embodiment, the sameaudible signals generated in the movie theater would also be generatedwhen the movie is transferred to a Blu-ray or DVD optical disk andplayed on a home theater system, or when the movie is transmitted orstreamed to the home over a television broadcast or a video on demandservice. In some circumstances, additional signals could be embedded inthe version of the film intended for home viewing. For instance,versions intended for the movie theater can be encoded so that theapplication does not present any visual distractions on the mobiledevice during the movie, while the home theater versions may allowrelated content to appear on the screen of the mobile device during themovie. The application 120 can be the same in both environments—all thatis required is that the signals 220 generated by the movie allow theapplication 120 to distinguish between these environments.

It is also possible that the signals 220 could be generated by a movietheater 200 without embedding the signals in the sound track of aparticular movie. In this case, a movie theater 200 could present theaudible signal 220 before every film 210 presented, with the signals 220presented by the theater 200 remaining unchanged between different films210.

Awarding Content

As explained above, the application 120 is designed to alter the devicesettings 130 upon receipt of a signal 220 indicative of either the eventcontent 210 or a particular location 200. In another embodiment, theapplication 120 uses the signal 220 to award access to particularcontent, such as awarded content 140. The user of the device 100 mayhave downloaded this content 140 when the user downloaded or otherwiseinstalled the application 120. In this case, the content 140 is lockedor otherwise unavailable for use by the user until the device 100receives the appropriate signal or signals 220. Alternatively, uponreceipt of the signal 220, the application 120 can allow the downloadingof content 140 from a central server at a later time. To allow thedownloading of the content 140 only after the receipt of signal 220, alink to the content 140 can be provided only within the application 120,where the application 120 can keep the link hidden or inoperative untilthe signal 220 is received.

The content 140 could take the form of entertainment content (such as asong or video clip) or an additional application that can be operated onthe device 100. The content could also enhance an existing application,such as adding a new character, adversary, or level for a gameapplication operating on the device 100. This signals 220 could also beused by the application 120 to identify the current location of theuser. In this way, the signals could be used to “check-in” a user atthat location in a game or social media application. These types ofapplications may track user's whereabouts in a central database thattracks the check-in locations of multiple users, and could award pointsfor the number, frequency, or variety of locations visited by the userand confirmed by the application 120 using these unique signals 220.

Users seeking access to content 140 would be required to haveapplication 120 on their mobile device 100 in order to receive thesignal 220. That signal 220 would only be available for receipt at anevent, such as at a movie theater, a musical concert, or a sportingevent, or at some other location, such as a retail store, coffee shop,or restaurant. Alternatively, the signal 220 could be recorded into aDVD or Blu-ray disc, so that the user would have to view the disc inorder to access the content 140. In yet another embodiment, the signalis recorded in audio/video material available over the Internet or overa television signal, such as retailer or manufacturer's commercial thatis available for viewing on a website or transmitted over a televisionchannel.

Synchronization

When the signal 220 is transmitted at a predetermined point in time inthe event content 210, the application 120 can use the signal 220 tosynchronize its operation with the event content 210. For example, thesignal 220 could be encoded into the audio soundtrack of a feature movie210. Upon receipt of the signal 220, the application 120 synchronizesthe mobile device 100 with the movie 210 by noting the time at which thesignal 220 was received by the device 100. Once synchronized, the mobiledevice 100 may deliver additional content to movie viewers thatsupplements the movie 210. The application 120 may rely upon a singlesynchronizing signal. Alternatively, the application 120 may recognizemany synchronizing signals 220 in order to ensure that the applicationremains properly synchronized with the event content 210.

In one embodiment, the device 100 provides synchronized translations onthe device 100 of a nonsensical language spoken by several of thecharacters in a feature movie or advertisements presented as part of theevent content 210. For example, this translation can take the form ofwritten text on the display of the mobile device 100 during the rollingof the movie credits. The text is synchronized to serve as a“translation” of unintelligible (or foreign language) dialog that isoccurring during the credits. All that is required to perform thisfunctionality is a synchronization signal at some point in the moviesoundtrack and a timer within the application 120 to present thetranslated text on the device 100 at the appropriate time in conjunctionwith the event content 210. For example, the signal 220 could occur atthe beginning of a feature film. The signal could trigger theapplication 120 to alter the device settings 130, putting the deviceinto movie mode. The application 120 could also begin a timer, so thatwhen the movie ends and the credits start to roll, the device couldsynchronize the “translations” with on-screen action. As would be clearto one of ordinary skill, this synchronization capability would allowthe phone to present stored content 140 or otherwise interact with theevent content 210 in a variety of ways.

The synchronization routines in the application 120 must reflect thereal-world operations of the device 100 so that any delays inherent in aparticular type of device 100 are recognized and accounted for by theapplication 120. For instance, certain device operating systems orhardware may require additional time between processing the recognitionof the signal 220 and the display of synchronized content.

The significance of this embodiment is that it changes the movie userexperience from a traditional view-only experience to having an addeddimension of a second communications channel. In one embodiment, thissynchronized communication channel provides a translation of anonsensical language that could not otherwise be deciphered by merelywatching the movie 210. The second layer of significance is that thesame sonic signal 220 used for synchronization may also serve as anunlocking cue for additional enhanced content 140, such as anentertainment file available for later use. Furthermore, when thisaspect of the invention is combined with the movie mode alteration ofthe device settings 130, it can be seen that the system 10 can rewardviewers that use this method to put their phones or other mobile devices100 into an appropriate configuration 130. Because the signal 220 can beaudible and embedded on a movie soundtrack, the system 10 does notrequire additional effort on the theater exhibitor's part and in fact,allows them to partner with groups that will generate additional content140, resulting in added value to the movie-going experience.

In-Store Mode

In yet another embodiment, the application 120 recognizes signals 220 inlocations other than an event location 200, such as a retail store site300. In this site 300, the application 120 may still be triggered uponreceipt of a signal 320 from a signaling device 330. The signal 320 maybe audible (a sound from a speaker), may be visual (capturing an imageon the device's camera, such as a 2D barcode, a character, or a logo),or may be a radio frequency signal (such as a Wi-Fi identification oreven Wi-Fi triangulation where the signal 320 is considered receivedupon achieving a particular location within the store site 300).

The application 120 can include the ability to interact with the storesite 300. For instance, the application can use Wi-Fi triangulationwithin the store to present the user with a map of the store and theircurrent location. The signal 320 serves to unlock a scavenger huntapplication 120 that will direct users to different locations within thestore site 300. At least three Wi-Fi transmitters 310 within the storesite 300 help to identify locations in the store. The application 120uses these transmitters 310 to provide users with visual or audiblefeedback measuring the distance to a particular desired location withinthe store site 300. Once the user arrives at the location, theapplication 120 can provide special content or coupons for the user touse at the store.

In one example, when the user achieves the correct location in the site300, the application 120 will display special content on top of a liveimage created by the mobile device's camera. This “augmented reality”display may include characters or icons relevant to a co-brandingagreement between the store and a third party, such as characters from anewly released movie. Once the character or icon is presented on thedevice's display, the user can interact with the display to earnadditional content or the store coupon. Store coupons can be electronic,with the application 120 presenting a scannable barcode on the displayof the device 100 that can be read by the store's point of sale checkoutdevices.

Methods

In FIG. 3, a method 400 for implementing one embodiment of the presentinvention is presented. The first step 410 is for the user to downloadthe application 120 to their device. Once the application 120 is on thedevice 100, the user can enter the event location 200 with their device100 at step 420. Alternatively, the user could watch content on atelevision screen or a computer monitor where the appropriate signalshave been embedded into the audio track of the content 210. At step 430,the event location 200 or the content itself 210 prompts the user tolaunch the application 120. This can occur through a verbal or visualreminder, which can be either an explicit request to launch theapplication 120, or more simply the display of an icon or logo. Theapplication 120 is then launched to ensure that the application 120 willbe active to detect the signal 220. In some embodiments, the application120 may be always active and awaiting the signal 220. In thesecircumstances, there will be no need for the user to manually launch theapplication 120. In other circumstances, the user will launch theapplication at step 430.

At step 440, the content 210 or the event location 200 transmits thesignal 220. In some embodiments, this occurs at the beginning of theevent such as before the beginning of a feature movie presentation. Themethod splits at step 450 depending upon whether the application 120 wasrunning on the device 100 and the signal 220 was detected by theapplication 120. If the signal 220 was detected, the application 120 atstep 460 alters the device settings 130 of the device 100, causing thedevice 100 to enter “movie mode.” The detection of the signal 220 willalso cause the device 100 to synch to the movie content 210, such as bystarting a timer within the device 100. This occurs at step 470. Thetimer then determines when the movie content 210 has reached the pointat which the device 100 will provide access to the content 140 that wasdownloaded along with or as part of the application 120. At theappropriate time, the device will automatically awaken. For example, thesignal at step 440 may be presented at the beginning of a feature movie,with the content 140 to be displayed during the movie credits more thanan hour after the signal in step 440. The application will associate thesignal 220 detected at step 450 with the appropriate movie 210 andcontent 140, and will therefore know that it should awaken after a giventime interval. This occurs at step 480. Because the device may be in apocket or on a lap when the device 100 awakens, the device 100 will alsoprompt the user when the content is about to be provided, such as bytriggering vibration of the device 100.

With the user now looking at the device 100, the device will present thecontent 140 in sync with the event content 210 (e.g., the movie credits)at step 490. Once the content 140 has been presented and the moviecontent 210 is over (as determined by the timer triggered at step 470),the application 120 will once again alter the device settings 130 andtake the device 100 out of movie mode. The process then ends.

The time counted by the timer before initiating the content in step 490and altering the device settings 130 in step 500 will generally bestored in the application program 120. In one embodiment, differentsignals 220 can be associated within the application program 120 withdifferent time values. The application program 120 looks up theappropriate time value based upon the signal 220 received.Alternatively, it would be possible to encode the delay time valueswithin the signal 220 itself. In this way, the application program wouldsimply identify the time values by decoding the signal, and then usethese values to trigger the sharing of the content 140 and thealteration of the device settings 130.

Returning to FIG. 3, it is possible that the device 100 will not detectthe signal in step 450. This could happen if the receiver 160 did notproperly receive the signal 220, or if the user failed to launch theapplication 120 in step 430. In this case, the method 400 continues atstep 510. If the application 120 had been launched and had not receivedthe signal 220, then the application 120 and the device 100 willeventually go to sleep in step 510. In order to give users anotherchance to access the locked content 140, the event location 200 willagain prompt users to launch the application 120 at step 520. Thisprompt 520 generally occurs at a different time than prompt 430, forinstance at the end of main movie feature. A short time after thisprompt, the event location 200 will issue another signal 220 at step530. The device 100 uses this signal to start the synch timer in step540. This step 540 is similar to step 470, except that the timers arebeing set at different time locations within the event content 210. Inorder to allow multiple entries into the stored content 140, thedifferent signals at steps 440 and 530 must be differentiable by thedevice 100. Once the synch timer is started at 540 in response to thesecond synch signal, the method will proceed with steps 490 and 500. Itis also possible to include additional synch signals during the timeperiod when the device 100 should be displaying content 140 at step 490.These additional synch signals will allow users who did not comply withthe earlier prompts to launch the application 120 in order to view thestored content 140 in progress.

A second potential method 600 for using the disclosed embodiments of thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 4. In this method 600, the userstarts the process by downloading the application 120 in step 610. Asexplained above, this app 120 may be operated on a variety of devices,including pocket PCs and tablet computers, such as the Apple iPad tabletdevice. In step 620, the user watches a television channel with theirmobile device operating the app 120. The app 120 can be the primaryapplication running on the mobile device, or may be running in thebackground. At step 630, a commercial appears on the television thatcontains the audible signal 220 in its soundtrack. The app running onthe mobile device detects the signal 640, and in response awards to theuser some desired content in step 650. In this embodiment, the desiredcontent is made available by allowing the user to download the contentover the Internet, which is accomplished by the user in step 660. Inthis case, the downloaded content is designed to supplement anotherapplication running on the mobile device. For example, the awardedcontent may be an additional character, monster, or level for a gamingapplication. The use of the content to supplement the game is shown inFIG. 4 as step 670, after which the method 600 ends.

Of course, the methods 400, 600 of FIGS. 3 and 4 are exemplary and arenot the exclusive methods for using the disclosed embodiments. Forinstance, method 400 could be supplemented by unlocking additionalcontent that could be used by the user after the device cancels themovie mode at step 500. In addition, method 600 could be used whileobserving video over the Internet as opposed to watching television, andthe method could further be supplemented by presenting synchronizedcontent along with the video. The many features and advantages of theinvention are apparent from the above description. Numerousmodifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in theart. Since such modifications are possible, the invention is not to belimited to the exact construction and operation illustrated anddescribed. Rather, the present invention should be limited only by thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for triggering actions on a portableelectronic device comprising: a) monitoring a microphone on the portableelectronic device for an identifiable audio element found at aparticular temporal location within a pre-recorded audio presentation;b) recognizing the identifiable audio element to identify the particulartemporal location within the audio presentation; c) after recognizingthe identifiable audio element, presenting visual information on adisplay of the portable electronic device in synchronization with theaudio presentation, wherein the visual information comprises writtentext that is synchronized with the audio presentation.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the text identifies audible words found within theaudio presentation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the audiopresentation is an audiovisual presentation that contains video.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the audiovisual presentation is broadcastover a television signal.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theidentifiable audio element is recognized after when the audiovisualpresentation is output over a television.
 6. The method of claim 3,wherein the audiovisual presentation is transmitted over the Internet.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual information is presented onthe display after a predetermined amount of time has passed since theidentifiable audio element is recognized.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the predetermined amount of time is determined by a timer thatis started when the identifiable audio element is recognized.
 9. Amethod for triggering actions on a portable electronic devicecomprising: a) tracking user activity in a central database; b)providing an application program for download to a non-transitory memoryon the portable electronic device, the application program containingprogramming to: i) await receipt of an identifiable audio element of amicrophone on the portable electronic device, ii) upon receipt of theidentifiable audio element, identifying a source for the identifiableaudio element, and iii) awarding points in the central database to auser associated with the application program based upon the receipt ofthe identifiable audio element and the identified source; and c)presenting the identifiable audio element within a prerecordedaudiovisual program.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein points areawarded based on the number, frequency, or variety of identified sourcesfor a plurality of identifiable audio elements received by theapplication program.
 11. A method for triggering actions on a portablecomputer electronic device comprising: a) providing an applicationprogram for download to a non-transitory memory on the portableelectronic device; and b) presenting a prerecorded audiovisual program,wherein the prerecorded audiovisual program contains a visual prompt toprompt a user to use the application program on the portable electronicdevice when viewing the audiovisual program, the audiovisual programfurther contains an identifiable audio element located temporally afterthe visual prompt in the audiovisual program; c) wherein the applicationprogram contains programming that responds to the audiovisual programby: i) receiving the identifiable audio element over a microphone on theportable computer electronic device, ii) identifying the identifiableaudio element, and iii) upon identifying the identifiable audio element,providing access through the portable electronic device to desiredcontent.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the desired content islocated within the application program, such that the desired content isprovided along with the application program for download together,wherein the desired content is not provided to users of the portabledevice until after the identifiable audio element is identified by theapplication program.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the desiredcontent is accessed over the Internet, such that access to the desiredcontent over the Internet is not provided to users of the portabledevice until after the identifiable audio element is identified by theapplication program.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein theidentifiable audio element is a sequence of successive tones.
 15. Amethod for triggering actions on a portable electronic devicecomprising: a) operating a gaming application on digital memory of theportable electronic device, the gaming application having hidden contentthat is not available for use upon a first operation of the gamingapplication; b) monitoring a microphone on the portable electronicdevice for an identifiable audio element found within a pre-recordedaudio presentation; c) recognizing the identifiable audio element toidentify the pre-recorded audio presentation; d) after recognizing theidentifiable audio element, unlocking the hidden content in the gamingapplication to make the hidden content available for use within thegaming application.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the hiddencontent is a member of a set comprising an additional gaming character,an additional adversary, and an additional level.